Tokyo Boy Breaks J-League Record - Maki Kitahara

(Credit to J-League official)

An FC Tokyo youngster, Maki Kitahara, made his debut for the capital city side in their 2-0 loss against Kashima Antlers.

This means the forward is now the youngest player to have stepped on the pitch in J-League history, at 15 years, 7 months and 22 days old.

Kitahara played the last seven minutes and was not able to force much of a difference as Kashima Antlers proved too strong for a rotated Tokyo side.

The youngster was previously on the bench against Nagoya Grampus but was unused as FC Tokyo ran out 3-1 winners.

It could be a sign of things to come for FC Tokyo who are focused on using homegrown talent within their squad, the likes of Kanta Doi, Taishi Brandon Nozawa, Teppei Oka being prime examples of homegrown players.

Elsewhere, Vissel Kobe started two teenagers in their 1-0 crashout against Avispa Fukuoka, Kento Hamasaki and Rikuto Hashimoto. Both boys starred earlier also against Shanghai Shenhua in the AFC Champions League.

Could this be the blend of a new generation of exciting talent onto the J-League stage?